Aural version of post to help non-English speaker.

[Jet Cash]

I'm going to start including audio files of some posts in the Fit to Talk English project. Several members have suggested this, and they feel that it will help members who do not have English as a first language. Always remember that the global spread of English has created a very wide range of dialects and accents. My accent has been described as "received English", and it is based on the "mother tongue". Local subsets, such as American, will include colloquialisms and varieties in enunciation and pronunciation.

Click here for the mp3 audio file

The quality is not as good as it could be. It was recorded in McDonalds as an experiment, and it would be better without the background music in my opinion. Also, I had the microphone too close in an attempt to reduce interference, but this has introduced sibilance. I will build an anechoic chamber to reduce the outside interference, and this should allow me to sit further away from the microphone. A vibration reducing base would also help to reduce sounds transferred through the table.

[MeEsH BaCcA]

I think this is a great idea! You’re very right about dialects I’m from the south of the UK and spoken English from say a Glaswegian can be hard to understand at best by most Brits! However written word and grammar is largely similar throughout the English speaking world, with the ability to hear a verbal version of written text a non native speaker could learn a lot as one of the most difficult things with foreign languages is scentence structure and gendered words. I don’t expect anyone to get to grips with their, there and they’re as the majority of the UK uses them wrong anyway .

Good idea buddy

[Sharon121212]

. Always remember the the global spread of English

Always remember that the global spread of English.


This is just to show us all that no one is perfect in English so fit to talk is not only for non English speaking countries but for everyone.
And we can all assist each other in having a better command of English

[Jet Cash]

Apologies for "that" error. I try to proof read, but "that" was something I missed.

I have a bit of a problem with the typing at the moment. I can be entering a reply, and I'll suddenly notice that I typing into the middle of a sentence 3 lines back. I suspect that it is the result of touching the keypad by accident. I'm going to diable it, and see if that stops the problem.

>>>>>

It doesn't look as if it can be disabled easily, so I've set it to low sensitivity.

[HODL2090]

Audio has been recorded to improve the progress of one trying to learn a new language. Online video games for example helps non-native speakers learn and perfect the English language, it would be a good addition to the fit to talk program. And would bring out the quality posters who are limited by the language barrier.

[jademaxsuy]

It may be a sound but non-english speaker can still learn how to write by the guide. When speaking english it is the same as writing but the writing is consist of comma, dots and more while in speaking it's not read as comma or dots but as a sign wether to stop for moment or stop longer when you see a dot symbol.

[Pmalek]

It doesn't look as if it can be disabled easily, so I've set it to low sensitivity.

The touchpad can be disabled on all laptops as far as I know. Either on the touchpad itself, using a combination of Fn + Function keys or from the BIOS. I am using two different types and switch it on and off constantly. What brand is the laptop you are using?

[LTU_btc]

<>

It's true about accents and dialects. Even in UK they are very different. For example, for me it's difficult to understand when people from Scotland are talking - they dialect is really strange and very specific. Welsh people also have typical accent. In US, there are Afro-American English which is like totally different language.
My accent is typical Eastern European, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. Probably main problem that I just don't speak in English often and this is why it's difficult for me to improve my pronunciation.

[Potato Chips]

My accent is typical Eastern European, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. Probably main problem that I just don't speak in English often and this is why it's difficult for me to improve my pronunciation.

It's perfectly understandable since accents most of the time are picked up naturally. It's hard to get rid of something that has been there before you know it. I had this problem too but I decided to just focus on speaking clearly rather than on "getting rid" part. There's lots of tutorials out there that will help you on this, but all of that is useless without application. I think a must-do is to find a native speaker(s) you can converse with, its prolly the one that worked the most for me.

@Jet Cash, so is this going to be a podcast or some sort? It'll be nice if we can stream it, I just find it more convenient as oppose to downloading. Also a notification whenever a new one comes out would be nice. What do you think about using third party platforms?

[gentlemand]

My accent is typical Eastern European, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. Probably main problem that I just don't speak in English often and this is why it's difficult for me to improve my pronunciation.

Is not pronunciation a choice to an extent? There's an element of fake it until you make it, not that it really matters with English as there are so many different forms of it.

A relative lives in France. I can't understand what he's saying compared to the locals because he makes no effort to sound French. I can't really remember much French any more but I do at least make the effort to pronounce it like a French person. That usually bites me in the arse as they assume I'm a native until they realise I don't understand anything they just said. I could speak it with my own inflections but don't see the point.

The one language I did get relatively fluent in is Italian which was picked up when living there. I could definitely tell when someone from another area had a strong accent but it would've been difficult for me to replicate.

I would suggest posting the mp3 files on youtube with subtitles. If a reader can't access youtube easily then perhaps you can post an mp4 file for them to download or post on their local video site.

[TalkStar]

It's true about accents and dialects. Even in UK they are very different. For example, for me it's difficult to understand when people from Scotland are talking - they dialect is really strange and very specific. Welsh people also have typical accent. In US, there are Afro-American English which is like totally different language.
My accent is typical Eastern European, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. Probably main problem that I just don't speak in English often and this is why it's difficult for me to improve my pronunciation.

Yeah completely agree with you. Pronunciation is the main fact here. As an international language "English" spread worldwide but pronunciation still using by country basis. Specilly who got it as mother tongue dialect differently & who learned it as a non english speaker has another kind of pronunciation. It actually happens for some reason like speed of talk, sound of letters, expertism.

[Jet Cash]

There are some quite interesting facts about speech and enunciation. Very often you find that better educated or "upper class" people source their sounds from deeper in the body, and the less well educated seem to speak through their noses. The nasal intonation seems to have become a modern affectation, especially in American news readers. I find that it is often very jarring and annoying, and I have had to turn off some news videos as a result.

I think I've found a bin to make an anechoic chamber, so I might start to make a few aural posts.

[Theb]

My accent is typical Eastern European, and I have no idea how to get rid of it. Probably main problem that I just don't speak in English often and this is why it's difficult for me to improve my pronunciation.

Well for the Asian region and I think I speak for almost everyone is we are having a more difficult time pronouncing English words that have the letters Ls and Rs (and in some occasions Ws) and most of the times we interchange them, I have read why and it is about our tongue placement when pronouncing the words which is caused by us speaking in our native language. But I have to tell speaking in English works even reading a book or online article during your past time can have a big improvement with your pronunciation, even having your mind set in speaking in English helps.

[Jet Cash]

One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary, and your knowledge of English word use, is to try to complete a few crossword puzzles.